Maybe it's all the shenanigans regarding governments and elections of recent times...It's just made me recall all of the promises and deals that were made relating to an Insulin Pump Scheme that would be applicable for children with IDDM up to 18 years of age before the 2007 election.  

I was first contacted by JDRF Head Office last year, before our Federal Election. A small group of parents and I were asked to contact Mr Howard. Others were pleading with our Members of Parliament to take into consideration how many children with diabetes don't have insulin pumps, and how desperately they needed them.

On International Diabetes Day,2007, Mr Howard historically announced that, if re-elected, he would provide $22 million to JDRF, to ensure that many children, and especially the ones who truly needed a pump, got one.

Despite our inital frenzy, at this stage, Mr Howard was lagging in the polls, so Kevin Rudd and team were our next target.

We rang Labor party hotlines, we wrote to Kevin personally, we even joined his Facebook Page. JDRF Youth Ambassadors followed him around and spoke of their need for an insulin pump program to combat their ailing health.

He knew that this was something that advocates and JDRF expected him to at least match, or maybe supercede the amount promised by Mister Howard.

So, Kevin Rudd became our new Prime Minister, and we said goodbye to our 22 million dollar promise.

Nothing was mentioned about Health, nor Childhood Diabetes in his victory speeches. I was silently worried.

He made grandiose promises to amend the public hospital debacles, and even establish doctor's surgeries replaced by state-of-the-art medical centres, where you could see your doctor, as well as have all of your blood work, x rays, physio and dentistry taken care of in the same complex.

Australia nodded and agreed wholeheartedly. This was a man who cared for the little Aussie battlers.

However, in that election promise, there was no mention of a insulin pump grant.

In the meantime, Lance's health took a turn for the worse. His endocrinologist spoke to me about the possiblity of getting an insulin pump.  When I bought up the possibility of obtaining one through the Insulin Pump Grant, he raised his eyebrows, stopped writing frantically, and shook his head. Hot, angry tears spilt down my face.

I began looking around and finally settled on a Medtronic pump.

The rep, Louise, and I gained a fantastic rapport. 

.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      totally  I really loved the way she communicated with me and understood how desperately a pump would be beneficial for Lance. I mentioned the insulin pump grant to her. She grimaced, and said something along the lines of, "If it does happen, it won't be for years, and it wouldn't be anywhere near the amount promised by Howard." I sighed, disheartened, and continued listening.

 I put DAYS into writing letters to different influential people-some responded, but it all depended on the upcoming election. As soon as we knew that the Labor party were victorious, I began furiously writing to various Health Ministers, Members of Parliament, and King Pin himself, without one reply.

Just before our annual budget was released in May, our very good friend, Gareth Eldershaw, (Gareth completed an interview for www.whydidtheinsulindie.com earlier this year), wrote to Arch Bevis,Federal Member for the Seat of Brisbane.

This is what Arch wrote in his comments regarding the budget results.

Firstly, he made reference to the letter that Gareth had written to him, complete with Jelly Baby Lapel Pin. (Budget night happens to coincide with Jelly Baby Month, so we make it a point that each MP is sent a pin and request that they wear it on their lapel on the night that has the Nation at a standstill.)

"May is a special month for JDRF as we try to make the community more aware of Type 1. As you know the jelly baby is a sort of motto that represents a vital aid to help us recover from a “hypo” when our glucose levels are too low. There’s a little blue guy in the envelope that I’d like to give you and ask you to wear in May and especially on Budget night."

I can tell Gareth that I am wearing his little blue guy on my lapel, as I did last night during the budget. Gareth went on..

" We talked about the grant to fund the reimbursement of insulin pumps for kids under the age of 18. 3000 pumps for all these kids (over a 5-year period) would cost $35m. It’s a lot of money I know, but you know how much it will save the government in the future? Of course it will make life a bit more bearable (and safe too) if kids can use insulin pumps."

I was very pleased to have been able to ring Gareth up today and say that in last night’s budget we made a step in that direction. I do not pretend that we have gone as far as we need to. I want to see the opportunity to benefit from an insulin pump—and not everybody with diabetes is suited to an insulin pump—be made available to all. But I do applaud the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, for her efforts in recent times in ensuring that the budget includes a provision that will see about 700 young Australians gain access to an insulin pump. I look forward to continuing to work inside government now rather than from the opposition benches to try to have that program extended.

The grand result?? JDRF were given $5.5 million, to be dispensed over three years, to provide insulin pumps for 700 children.

After much planning and deliberating, JDRF will begin accepting applications for contributions towards the purchase of an insulin pump. It will be based on a financial means test, and the most that can be received per child is $2500. Families without health insurance can begin applying for insulin pumps for their children in November.

So, with the average insulin pump costing $6000, (notice, I say average ), and with approximately 1.7 million dollars provided each year, it won't take long before all of the money is dispensed. If you are a suitable candidate for the $2500, what happens then? How do you get the rest of the money? Fundraising is about the only real option,and we all know how difficult that is.

I'm really not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I'm so grateful that we were acknowledged at all, the heart and soul of some 50 parents went into sharing their children's private stories regarding life without an insulin pump. I'm sure PLENTY of other charities tried their hardest to get a financial boost without succeeding, so I really don't want to appear like I'm complaining or ungrateful.

I guess it just smarts a little that we could have had 22 million dollars.

It hurts to think that some families will qualify for the $2500, but will be totally stuck when it comes to raising the rest. Not to mention those who receive $750-I mean, what happens there?

• Knowing JDRF Australia, they may have some amazing fund raising venture up their sleeve, but in all truthfulness, does it leave families any better off than before this money was offered? Personally, if I hadn't have paid for Lance's pump outright, and I knew that there was NO way I could afford to pay for the outstanding amount, I think (and only if Lance's health was in excellent shape), that I would forfeit the opportunity. JDRF staff are going to have to make some really difficult decisions without being biased to families they know well and adore.

 Vote for whomever will give you a better Health Care System, America!

http://capitalfax.blogspot.com/2008/10/gopusa-illinois-daily-clips-october-10.html

(...Ain't Conserv-O-Logic™ fun? Milton-Bradley ought to get right on making this a word game. The holidays are coming up.)

Sadly (and in all seriousness), GOPUSA ILLINOIS Editor Dave Diersen also makes it clear he has no problem with a highly partisan activist taking taxpayer money to freelance as a supposedly non-partisan Election Commission spokesman.

--

PS: Everyone already know Diersen was full of it, but apparently he's also completely heartless ... playing the Levite during his neighbors' hour of need. From that same GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletter:

SUBURBAN LIFE
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Democrats get 45,000 people who lack job skills and/or lack job experience and/or who have severe health, financial, and/or other problems to come to DuPage County to "live in poverty" and 121,000 to live "one paycheck away from being homeless."
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/glenellyn/homepage/x1452590143/-Sleep-Out-Saturday-raises-awareness-of-homelessness

Very sad indeed, not too mention un-Christian and just plain cold. Clearly, he has no interest in being his neighbors' keeper when they're down on their luck. If only all of those whom he walks over could be as privileged as him to live on a pile of poop, his sheer lack of compassion might then go unnoticed.

Planners at Leeds City Council have given the green light to plans for a new centre of excellence for dance in Leeds. The new building will be home to Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and Phoenix Dance Theatre (Phoenix) and will be built on Quarry Hill next to the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Yorkshire Dance, the BBC and the Leeds College of Music. The designs by the Strategic Design Alliance, a partnership of Jacobs Architecture and Leeds City Council’s in-house architectural consultancy, were passed at a planning meeting earlier today.

The ambitious plans are for a six-storey building consisting of seven dance studios including a 200-seat studio theatre, office space, a health suite and a costume workshop. Alongside the two professional companies the building will eventually house a full-time classical dance school as well as Leeds Metropolitan University’s dance degree courses. The building will open in summer 2010.

In February NBT and Phoenix launched momentum, the campaign to raise the remaining £1.5million of the £12million building. To date the campaign has raised more than £800,000 from a number of trusts, foundations and individual donors. Mark Skipper, NBT’s Chief Executive is spearheading the momentum campaign:  “The planning decision means that we have reached a key milestone in this project’s progress. With building work due to start on site in four months time we are now looking for a number of businesses and individual donors to step forward and help us meet our fundraising target and achieve our ambitions.” Anyone wishing to support the momentum campaign should visit www.momentum.co.uk or contact Melanie Aram at NBT at melanie.aram@northernballettheatre.co.uk

The new building has received wide support from across the region with Leeds City Council investing £6.7million, including a contribution from Yorkshire Forward, and Arts Council England, Yorkshire investing £3.5million through the National Lottery.

Andy Carver, Executive Director of Arts Council England, Yorkshire said: "It's great news that this exciting project has reached such a significant milestone. ­Two of the country's leading dance companies will have a state-of-the-art new home in Leeds, bringing great dance to many more people in Yorkshire and beyond."

Yes, it is idealistic to think that people donating money online are somehow more honest collectively than the internet population as a whole. It's common sense to think that yes, some people who donate money online are going to falsify information and perhaps even commit fraud. It's statistically probable that this will occur.

Recently there have been a lot of news stories about this very thing - some people who have donated money online to Obama, and even some of McCain's online donors, have not been honest.

From the New York Times:

But even a contributor who used the name “Jgtj Jfggjjfgj,” and listed an address of “thjtrj” in “gjtjtjtjtjtjr, AP,” was able to contribute $370 in a series of $10 donations in August.

A pair of donors named “Derty West” and “Derty Poiiuy,” who listed “rewq, ME” as their addresses and “Qwertyyy” or “Qwerttyyu” as either their employer or occupation, contributed a combined $1,110 in July.

This is what makes it hard to identify, though:

Federal candidates are not required to itemize such contributions to the F.E.C. unless the donor’s cumulative total adds up to more than $200. Roughly 70 percent of these contributions to Mr. Obama are not reported, compared with more than 75 percent of Mr. McCain’s.

Just when we think we've found a political goldmine, we are slapped with reality.

I wanted to take this time to reach out to all the readers of Container Diaries and fill them in on what I have been up to over the years. 

As many of you know, basketball was my number one love growing up.  I probably spent more time in the schoolyard than at home.  I didn't make the NBA so the next best thing was to coach.  It's been a great journey along the way and currently I am entering my second season as men's head basketball coach at Jackson Community College located in Jackson, Michigan.

We have joined forces with a fundraising company called My Sports Dreams.  Instead of going out and trying to raise money, we were informed of this great organization who do most of the work for us.  We need to provide them with names of people who we feel would donate anything from $25 to $1,000.

At the Junior College level, funds are low.  So fundraising is necessary. If helping our team would be of interest to anyone out there, I would love to hear from you.  We are trying to raise money for gym bags, balls, travel expense, food, sweatsuits, etc.

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

And yes, I realize some of the Mac's funds are implicated, as well, but the pattern with Obama must cause us to question whether it's the consequence of deliberate indifference.  Moreover, I don't think Obama's fundraising can be considered outside of the context of his broken promise to accept public funding.

If you're out and about cheering downtown on Sunday be sure to keep an eye out for any of these racers!

To support their research click through the following links:
American Liver Foundation – Illinois
National Kidney Foundation of Illinois

Happy Friday,

Joslyn

We are participating in the Annie’s Plant the Seed for Learning program, in which we can win a FREE organic garden starter kit for our school. School gardens can help connect our kids to real food and provide them a context for learning about science, nutrition, and where there food comes from. With your help, Eastvalley can help lay the foundation for a healthy future for our kids!

Our goal is to collect 100 box tops from any Annie’s Homegrown products before the program deadline of October 31, 2008. To date, we have collected 10 Annie’s Box Tops and are 10% of the way to our program goal. We can collect up to 500 box tops for 5 chances to win the free garden kit. Thank you if you have contributed box tops to our collection drive, but we still need to continue our collection efforts as we strive to provide our children with hands-on science and nutrition-based education.

Send your box tops into school. We're collecting them in the Drink Pouch container located inside the cafeteria.

As a friendly reminder, some familiar products from Annie’s include:

• Natural or Organic Macaroni & Chees
• Cheddar Bunnies Baked Snack Cracker
• Bunny Grahams All-Natural Graham Snack
• All-Natural Cereal
• Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks

Visit Annies.com for complete program details or to find out which stores near you carry Annie’s products.

If you have any questions, or would like to help with our Annie’s Plant the Seed for Learning collection drive, please feel free to contact Shari Sprigle or Bryan Reddish. Our email addresses are on the "About GGE" page at this blog.

Thanks so much for your support. Together with Annie’s Plant the Seed for Learning program — we can build a better school for our children.

The kit includes:

1. Link a Board Raised Bed Kit
2. 6pc kids tool set
3. Kids work gloves (5 pairs)
4. Vegetable garden seeds
5. Growing Food book
6. Wire compost bin

What is Annie's?

Link to Contest Information.

I signed up to Barack Obama's email list to see what sort of things they send out to supporters and nearly every day there is some form of request for money.  They vary in style.  Sometimes they are a blatant request for money (usually linked in to some form of event such as the deadline for registering to vote or the opening of early voting), others are related to a new video or ad they've produced, another is related to an attack on John McCain or Sarah Palin.  Even just plain informational emails include the line at the bottom saying, "Why not give us at least $5 now."  The best one was the one that said "send us a at least $5 and we'll send you a window poster."  Wow, what generosity!

This is a huge contrast with what we are used to in this country. A common gripe from Liberal Democrat members is the number of requests they get for money.  Most of this is blamed at the national party, when in a very active constituency the appeals for money are as likely to come locally as nationally.  Is it that in this country we are more sensitive to it and are less approving of people who ask for money or is there another reason for it?

I suppose in the United States people might be more forgiving in a presidential election.  After all, they have less time to raise the funds as it is all concentrated in one twelve month period.  Plus, with one big national election that is seen to be so critical to the future of not only their own country but the world, there is more chance of whipping up some enthusiasm, (although with a turnout that tends to be a lot less than our own General Elections that argument may not stand).  But either way I am sure that daily appeals for money would generate more complaints in this country.

The big contrast though between Barack Obama's financial appeals and what is done in this country is the use of email rather than letters.  It may be that the American presidential candidates are also using letters, but it is certainly the case that they are heavily dependent on email.  Indeed a huge amount of Obama's money was raised online.  The advantage of email is that you can bombard people with emails and it is a lot cheaper than letters and it feels a lot less intrusive.  I probably only read about one in five of Barack Obama's emails which shows they can more easily be ignored, whereas I would always read a letter.  Perhaps this proves how effective letters are, but with email you can keep asking people until they eventually relent or unsubscribe, whichever comes first.  You can also ask them in many different ways in the hope that one works and is the final trigger to give money.  Giving money over the internet is also of course much easier than having to write out a cheque and put it in the post.

I think daily emails asking for money is only possible in something of the intensity of a presidential election or a General Election.  But perhaps it is still a sign of the way things will go in this country.  At present national parties are able to campaign at this level, but have chosen not to.  But for greater effectivness it would also need to be possible for constituency parties to have the mechanism to raise funds through the internet using their own email contacts.  There will be many people out there who may never give their details to a national political party, but would happily hear from their local party.  There are some mechanism to allow that at present, but the cost of doing it is prohibitive.

At the next General Election there will undoubtedly be many ideas copies from Barack Obama's campaign.  Fundraising may be one of them, and so prepare yourself not only for a torrent of leaflets but for one of emails too.

The smell of money.

Money donated to Tom Harkin.

Money from names in the news.

Money contributed to Tom Harkin from outside Iowa.

Money used to elect Very Liberal Tom Harkin.

Have you ever wondered where Tom Harkin gets the big bucks?

You read. You decide.

Is this the kind of person we want to continue to be IOWA'S Senator?

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?CID=N00004207

Cycle Fundraising, 2003 - 2008

Raised:	$8,139,857
Spent:	$4,362,844
Cash on Hand:	$4,109,219
Debts:	$0
Last Report:	Monday, June 30, 2008

Top 5 Contributors, 2003-2008

<!---->Herbalife International	$72,786
Texas Pacific Group	$39,900
Monsanto Co	$27,203
Cassidy & Assoc/Interpublic Group	$26,250
Goldman Sachs	$24,580

Top 5 Industries, 2003-2008

<!---->Lawyers/Law Firms	$591,918
Health Professionals	$347,849
Securities & Investment	$341,460
Retired	$296,637
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$279,112

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1642

"During the 2004 election cycle, when Harkin was not up for re-election, more than 80 percent of the dollars contributed to Harkin came from outside the state of Iowa. The three locales from which most of Harkin's cash came were Washington, D.C., Los Angeles-Beverly Hills and New York City. Harkin might look like a Senator from Iowa, but he is the almost-wholly-owned subsidy of special interests and alien ideological groups very far away from traditional Iowan interests and values.

During the 2004 cycle Harkin's campaign coffers collected more than $40,000 from nutrient seller Herbalife International and $35,000 from diet and herbal substance maker Starlight International. Starlight, owned by TV producer and concert promoter Steven Goldberg, was questioned in 2003 by a congressional committee about its marketing of products that contained the potentially dangerous herb ephedra. Other big health-related donors include Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Healthsouth Corporation and the American Chiropractic Association."

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=272407

Top recipients of money from Freddie Mac, AIG, etc.

Senate Dodd, Christopher J $28,800
Senate Obama, Barack $21,450
Senate Clinton, Hillary $17,600
House Bachus, Spencer $11,500
House Bean, Melissa $11,249
Senate McCain, John $9,500
Senate Alexander, Lamar $9,000
Senate Bennett, Robert F $8,999
House Davis, Tom $8,999
House Boehner, John $8,000
House Pelosi, Nancy $7,500
Senate Reid, Harry $7,500
House Cantor, Eric $7,000
Presidential Romney, Mitt $6,050
House Frank, Barney $5,500
Senate Johanns, Michael O $5,490
Senate Warner, Mark $5,050
Senate Bond, Christopher S 'Kit' $5,000
Senate Durbin, **** $5,000
Senate Lott, Trent $5,000

American International Group: Recipients

Senate Dodd, Christopher J $104,300
Senate Obama, Barack $71,761
Senate McCain, John $41,699
Senate Clinton, Hillary $41,431
Senate Baucus, Max $24,750
Senate Biden, Joseph R Jr $19,975
Presidential Romney, Mitt $19,950
Senate Sununu, John E $16,200
House Larson, John B $14,500
Presidential Giuliani, Rudolph W $13,200
House Kanjorski, Paul E $12,000
Senate Durbin, **** $11,000
House Perlmutter, Edwin G $10,500
House Rangel, Charles B $9,000
Presidential Edwards, John $7,850
Senate Corker, Bob $7,650
House Smith, Chris $6,900
House Neal, Richard E $6,500
Senate Rockefeller, Jay $6,500
Senate Reed, Jack $6,000

Goldman Sachs: Recipients

Senate Obama, Barack $691,930
Senate Clinton, Hillary $468,200
Presidential Romney, Mitt $229,675
Senate McCain, John $208,395
House Himes, Jim $114,748
Presidential Giuliani, Rudolph W $111,750
Senate Dodd, Christopher J $105,400
Presidential Edwards, John $66,450
Senate Specter, Arlen $47,600
House Emanuel, Rahm $32,950
Senate Reed, Jack $30,100
Senate Sununu, John E $29,900
Senate Baucus, Max $26,000
Senate Warner, Mark $25,900
Senate Harkin, Tom $24,580
Senate Lautenberg, Frank R $23,300
House Skelly, Michael Peter $22,657
Senate Collins, Susan M $21,400
Senate Landrieu, Mary L $20,700
Senate Durbin, **** $19,800

As you can see Harkin is in good company with other elected leaders who accepted money from big donors. Under current law, perhaps all of this generous giving is acceptable. Yet, to this voter, I can sure understand the ‘smell of money' and how our leaders must love receiving it.

In the case of Reed vs. Harkin (David vs Goliath) I sure can see how Reed is at a great disadvantage with campaign funds when Harkin has the big bucks from outside interests.

Grassroots voters: Give your time, attention, and yes, hard earned money to Christopher Reed's campaign. We cannot accept the fact that non-Iowans are deciding with their money who our Senator will be. Yes, the "smell of money" when it comes to Tom Harkin has a bad odor and needs to have an even worse taste in our mouths.

I also worked with the team of counselors at McKenzie's middle school to set up Red Ribbon Week.  That's my big project at her school for the year.  The point is to raise awareness and educate students and families about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, smoking and so on.  I have a different theme for every day, prizes for every day, give aways for all the kids, a door decorating contest for the teachers, we're working on getting a crashed car for the front lawn.  I also have set up a family night to educate parents and get them talking with their kids.  We're going to feed them pizza, have a speaker who lost her daughter in a drinking and driving accident, show a movie, and have discussion with the counselors.

In the midst of all of this, I am also wrapping up my biggest fundraising project for the year at Matt's school.  In the last 2 days I have counted $16,000 about 5 times, and processed all the orders and sent them off.  We will profit 50% of our total sales.  I don't know what our internet sales total is, but so far we've made over $8,000.  I'm very happy about that.

I'm not an accountant.  Never in my life have I wanted to be an accountant.  What class am I struggling through right now?  Accounting.  I hate it.  And as with any online class it's twice the work of a traditional class.  Thank God the class is only six weeks long.  Only 4 weeks left. 

So Tom is coming home tonight.  He's coming home to a messy house.  I ordered pizza for dinner tonight... again.  Hopefully I will be able to stay awake until he gets here.  I hope that he won't notice the messy house, the dishes in the sink, the overflowing laundry basket in the corner.  I hope that he will be as excited to see me as I will be to see him.  The most exhausting part of this very long week was not having my best friend here each night.  Text messages and quick phone calls just aren't a substitute for face time.

Please visit the forms page to learn more.

And while you are there, don't forget that you can also show your spirit with official WBC Spirit Wear. Show your community how much you love the Westchester Ballet Company!

Thank you for your support!

The cocktail party is a chance for all of the friends of the WBC to join us in celebrating and supporting the Westchester Ballet Company. The event will be held on Saturday, November 15 from 6-9 pm. Please note that this event is for those 21 & older. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the event. We look forward to seeing you.

From Give & Take...
Donor Questions Fund-Raising Pitch
Ian Wilhelm writes about the difficulty of fundraising campaigns that promise "$X causes ______." Certainly this positioning of a fundraising appeal captures the attention of donors... but is it realistic or honest?

From Idealware...
Build vs. Buy
Michelle Murrain discusses the old technological dilemma: build or buy? Her stance is that this dichotomy should be retired - with the state of available off-the-shelf, SaaS and open source software, "building" is for very unique cases only.

Emily Thackary an ambassador for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust came to tell us how she has, and is, battling this heartbreaking heriditary disease. You can read her amazing story yourself, but what was clear to me is that stories, told by real people, about real people, to real people, are powerful - much more powerful than numbers, graphs and analyses can be.

James Kliffen, Head of Fundraising at MSF UK, spoke to us about the current challenges that charities are facing here in the UK and elsewhere.  About the conflicts of interests in long-established organisations, desperately trying to adapt to the modern technological world. About fundraising strategies which at one time might have worked brilliantly, but nowadays mostly just make people angry and resentful. He also told us about the power of a grandmother who decided to tell her stories. Simple, true, honest stories. How her stories built a trusting and enaged following, and how her choice to include a link to MSF in her blog transferred that trust by association - resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.

New web technologies are enabling and empowering everybody to tell their stories. Time and again, the most powerful aspect of Justgiving are the stories people tell in creating their page, and the 'mini-stories' people write in commenting on their donation. Releasing creative and editorial power to the user creates massive authenticity -  a compelling and rare commodity which inspires engagement, trust and generosity.

How can charities maximise the effectiveness of their fundraising efforts? Learn about and implement the most appropriate new technologies; enabling and empowering all supporters, fundraisers and donors to share their stories in the most impactful, engaging and authentic ways.

This is a really cool thing. Not only do you get a pumpkin, but it's a fundraiser for the Aggie Habitat Organization. You can read more about what they are up to on their site.

During the course of the fundraiser, we will host several special events ranging from pumpkin painting, bean bag toss, story telling etc. Also, many groups from schools and local day cares come out during the day to take advantage of the activities and join in all the fun. The Church will even be hosting an October fest filled with lots of fun and games (even a hay ride!)

Go get a pumpkin. They are open until "dark" and open at noon on weekdays and I think 9am on weekends.

If they can make it in pink, they have and they want you to buy it.

Check the fine print on these items to be sure that your purchase will result in a reasonable donation in the timeframe that you are shopping.

If you want to make a real difference in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in South-Central Ontario, join us in raising money to purchase a breast coil for the Hamilton General Hospital.

The breast coil is used with the MRI machine to look in the breasts to see if tumors are present.

Using the MRI (magnetic resonance imagining) machine is superior to a regular mammogram because we can see more on the images. The images are more detailed and include parts of the body like the chest wall and the armpits, where cancer can spread to the lymph nodes.

The breast coil is a lot more comfortable than a mammogram.

At the moment, the Hamilton General Hospital can do about 12 breast studies per month with their MRI, using a breast coil borrowed from the Henderson Hospital. Of course, when the breast coil is at the General, it means that the Henderson can't do any breast studies.

Dr. Michael Patlas, the General's expert radiologist for breast x-rays and MRIs, estimates that the General would be able to do 4X as many breast studies every month if they had their own breast coil.

This is important for women in our region. At any one time, the General has 20 patients waiting for a breast MRI. Imagine these women being able to get their studies done within 2 weeks instead of 2 months (or longer).

At this time, it is recommended that no one undergo surgery for breast cancer without an MRI study but this just isn't feasible in our region. Women often have to face the decision of proceeding to surgery without an MRI (and possibly missing tumors or lymph nodes that could be seen on MRI) or waiting for an MRI, knowing that the cancer is growing and possibly spreading during the wait.

Please join us in raising money for this very important piece of equipment.

I am working with Kelly Arnott who organizes the running races in the Burlington area. We are working very closely with the Radiology Department at the Hamilton General Hospital to make a breast coil for the General a reality.

Kelly is putting the proceeds of the 2009 Chilly Half Marathon & Frosty 5k towards the breast coil. Participate in these races yourself or sponsor a participant.

Here at Advanced Rejuvenation, we will be holding monthly fundraising events, donating the proceeds of a particular treatment each month. To find out more, sign up here for our electronic newsletter.

Dr. Rose Jeans
Advanced Rejuvenation Medical Spa

Also, new to the scene, the brilliant Jen Basler joined us and mentioned one fundraising method she'd heard of where a bunch of people biked from this side of town all the way to California and raised $5000. An impressive sum! I, Nina Arundhati, now plan to make a similar trip to raise starter money for CAN. One of CAN's pressing concerns is sustainable funding, and one solution is to have our own enterprises and produce our own media (books, zines, musics), serving the dual purpose of educating people and funding our work at the same time. Launching our own enterprises of course requires starter money though (it takes money to make money), hence the need for a fundraiser. Anyone who'd like to join me on my biking fundraisers is welcome! And of course, other fundraising ideas also welcome---we crave ideas!

As for the next gathering, I think we'll delay for a week, I have special secret plans. Let me know though if you'd like to host a CAN party, meeting, or gathering yourself, eventually the idea is precisely that these get togethers will spread and not depend on any one individual initiative (principally me right now) to happen regularly. We also want the get togethers to take place in multiple locations for accessibility purposes, so if you can host us sometime, pretty please, do share! :)

~ Nina Ashanti Arundhati